The Tide is Turning
The Tide is Turning is a case featured in Criminal Case, it appears as the twenty-seventh case in The Syndicate and the twenty-seventh case overall. It takes place as the second case in the Belrose Bay district of Easthaven. Plot The still is broken by a man running up a hill, sobbing from sadness. Raymond rushes to the bird-feeding bench, collapsing onto it and catching his breath. The former chief then looked out into the distance, his eyes glassy, tears running down his cheeks as he tried to block his thoughts. Birds caw in the background, but Raymond doesn't notice, his eyes leaking like a faucet... Two weeks earlier, the team discussed their growing concern; the rising amount of criminals drafted onto the Chessmaster's criminal syndicate in Easthaven. The newly-appointed Chief of Police, Grayson Campbell, then instructs the player and Jake to rush to the beach, revealing that a group of teen mystery sleuths had been trapped in a cave following a sudden turn in the tide. The pair then ventured into the depths, following the sounds they could as the light of day diminished, only for Jake to find a trail of blood. There, impaled against stalagmites, was amateur sleuth Felix Jakes, clutching his ascot in his hand. Daphne first confirmed that Felix, leader of the mystery sleuths, was gripped around the throat and pushed onto the stalagmites, impaling his heart and internal organs. The team then ventured back into the cave, finding evidence to suspect Felix's friends; mystery sleuth Orville "Ragged" Rodrick, bookworm Viola Deakins, and Daphne's daughter, fashion student Margot Valentine. All three suspects confirmed they were looking for a monster, supposedly hiding in the caves. Jake and the player then recapped, before the pair spotted multicoloured lights, glistening in the darkness. The pair of detectives soon delved further into the cave, where they came across a clearing of beautiful crystals, glistening with different colours. In the clearing, they found reason to flag gemologist Victor von Haunt and cave adventurer Esmeralda Topaz as suspects, along with discovering that Margot and Felix were pursuing a romantic relationship, and that Felix and the football team bullied Viola for her "clunky" glasses. After discovering the killer went spelunking, the pair were interrupted by Noah who wanted to ask Matthew an important question. Barbara then informed the pair that beachgoers had seen monstrous shadows in the cave. The pair soon rushed back to the cave, where they discovered the shadows to be caused by Orville's dog, Sooty. Orville then apologised for the misunderstanding and went back to monster hunting, before they discovered that Felix had twisted Esmeralda's ankle to stop her accessing the crystal cave and that Victor had wrongfully identified the gems in order to purchase them for less. Eventually, the killer was exposed as Orville. Orville tried to deny the accusations, insisting he needed to return home to feed Sooty and didn't have time for the fruitless interrogation. Eventually, as Jake excitedly presented the evidence, Orville snapped, calling Felix selfish, irresponsible, and not deserving of what he had. Orville recounted how Felix and him were in the cave, inspecting the crystals under the guise they were searching for a monster, when Orville came across something glistening in the distance; a diamond as large as his hand. Knowing the diamond would solve all his worries, Orville stashed the diamond, but Felix saw, demanding he hand it over. They fought, and Felix stole the diamond, attempting to flee the cave before Orville could catch him. To Felix's surprise, however, Orville caught up to him, gripping him by the neck. Orville then shoved Felix against the ground, impaling him against the stalagmites. Orville then took the diamond and waited to be rescued, where he escaped the scene. In court, Orville handed the diamond over for lesser time in prison, prompting Judge Watson to sentence Orville to fifteen years in prison. As Grayson told the team the diamond would be taken care of, Noah requested the pair's help in asking his question, insisting he couldn't do it alone. Noah then confessed what he needed to tell Matthew; that he'd been offered a job in Chicago, and wanted to ask Matthew to come with him. Jake and the player sighed, aware that Matthew could potentially leave the team so soon after Raymond. Noah pleaded for their help, prompting the trio to return to the crystal clearing to find Matthew a gift. Knowing Matthew was a lover of quartz, they returned and found what they were looking for. After Esmerelda fashioned the quartz into cufflinks, Noah presented them to Matthew in his lab, prompting the pair to share a kiss. Noah then broke the news to Matthew and asked him to come to Chicago with him, prompting Matthew to go quiet. Noah confessed that he loved Matthew and couldn't imagine being without him. Matthew then sighed, insisting he needed time alone. A downtrodden Noah nodded, leaving the laboratory and thanking the team for their help. Afterwards, as the team discussed the news that Matthew might leave the team, Grayson reminded them not to gossip. He then suggested that the group of mystery sleuths might have knowledge on the Chessmaster's syndicate and instructed the player and Nancy to speak to Margot. Margot then insisted that she discovered talk of a syndicate forming and suggested the group investigate, but the rest rejected her idea. Margot then directed them to her papers in the Enigma Mobile, where they eventually found Margot's information. William soon analysed the documents, where he revealed that Margot had heard talk of an "elite agent" in the syndicate working from Belrose Bay, who had direct ties to the Chessmaster. William also decreed that the elite agent was personally recruiting members for the cabal of criminals. The team then thanked Margot for her help and for handing over the documents, where she revealed that she would be leaving sleuthing behind to focus on her studies. Later on, the team reconvened in the police station, minus Matthew. Nancy then presented their findings; that an elite agent in Belrose Bay was responsible for recruiting the criminals. Knowing that they could stop the Chessmaster's recruitment scheme if they arrested the elite agent, the team set to work on identifying the elite agent, starting with a sandcastle competition in the next week. Meanwhile, Matthew worked at his desk, trying to block out the decision he was faced with. Noah then accompanied him, placing a hand on his shoulder and admitted he'd understand if Matthew refused to come. Matthew sighed, admitting he loved Noah back, but wasn't sure what to do; lose the team or Noah. Two weeks later, Noah rushes into the precinct, running to the front desk. A panicked Noah then insists he needs to file a missing person's report, and that Matthew had told him to meet in the park, but had never turned up. As Noah insists his worry that something awful had happened to Matthew, police wheel in a second set of remains to the coroner's lab, pushing the doors open. Noah could then see a tearful Daphne as the new remains are brought in, only for the doors to shut once more... Summary Victim *'Felix Jakes' (impaled against stalagmites) Murder Weapon *'Stalagmites' Killer *'Orville "Ragged" Rodrick' Suspects Suspect's Profile *The suspect uses breath freshener. *The suspect owns a dog. *The suspect goes spelunking. Suspect's Appearance *The suspect has a goatee. *The suspect wears green. Suspect's Profile *The suspect uses breath freshener. *The suspect owns a dog. *The suspect goes spelunking. Suspect's Profile *The suspect uses breath freshener. *The suspect owns a dog. Suspect's Appearance *The suspect wears green. Suspect's Profile *The suspect uses breath freshener. *The suspect owns a dog. *The suspect goes spelunking. Suspect's Appearance *The suspect has a goatee. Suspect's Profile *The suspect uses breath freshener. *The suspect owns a dog. *The suspect goes spelunking. Suspect's Appearance *The suspect wears green. Quasi-Suspect(s) Killer's Profile *The killer uses breath freshener. *The killer owns a dog. *The killer goes spelunking. *The killer has a goatee. *The killer wears green. Crime Scenes Steps Chapter 1 *Investigate Coastal Cave. (Clue: Victim's Body, Broken Watch, Metal Pieces, Cave Tools) *Examine Metal Pieces. (Result: Flower Hubcap) *Analyze Flower Hubcap. (08:00:00; New Crime Scene: Engima Mobile) *Investigate Enigma Mobile. (Clues: Drawer, Faded Sketchpad) *Examine Drawer. (Result: Collection of Books) *Examine Collection of Books. (Result: Cave Monster Books; New Suspect: Viola Deakins) *Quiz Viola on her friend's death. *Examine Faded Sketchpad. (Result: Margot's Signature) *Question Margot on why she was in the cave. *Examine Cave Tools. (Result: Green Shirt; New Suspect: Orville "Ragged" Rodrick) *See if Orville knows anything about the murder. *Examine Broken Watch. (Result: Victim's Watch) *Analyze Victim's Watch. (08:00:00; Attribute: The killer owns a dog) *Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer uses breath freshener) *Go to Chapter 2. (No stars) Chapter 2 *Investigate Crystal Clearing. (Clues: Faded Sheet, Adventurer's Bag, Broken Pieces) *Examine Faded Sheet. (Result: Gemology Sheet) *Analyze Gemology Sheet. (05:00:00; New Suspect: Victor von Haunt) *Interrogate Victor on the sheet in the cave. (Attribute: Victor uses breath freshener) *Examine Adventurer's Bag. (Result: Torch TOPAZ; New Suspect: Esmerelda Topaz) *See if Esmeralda was in the cave during the murder. (Attribute: Esmerelda owns a dog) *Examine Broken Pieces. (Result: Felix's Trap) *Analyze Felix's Trap. (08:00:00; Attribute: The killer goes spelunking; New Crime Scene: Van Interior) *Investigate Van Interior. (Clues: Ascot Draw, Varsity Jacket) *Examine Ascot Draw. (Result: Kiss Mark) *Ask Margot about the kiss mark on the victim's ascot. (Attribute: Margot uses breath freshener and owns a dog) *Examine Varsity Jacket. (Result: Angry Message) *Analyze Angry Message. (07:00:00) *Speak to Viola about the bullying. (Attribute: Viola uses breath freshener, owns a dog, and goes spelunking; Esmerelda goes spelunking) *Go to Chapter 3. (No stars) Chapter 3 *Question Orville on why he's returned to the cave. (Attribute: Orville uses breath freshener, owns a dog, and goes spelunking; New Crime Scene: Stalagmites) *Investigate Stalagmites. (Clues: Damaged Image, Faded Cheque) *Examine Damaged Image. (Result: Image of Felix) *Examine Image of Felix. (Result: Strange Marks) *Analyze Strange Marks. (02:00:00) *Confront Esmerelda over throwing her climbing axe at Felix's image. (Attribute: Esmerelda uses breath freshener) *Examine Faded Cheque. (Result: Payment) *Confront Victor over the payments. (Attribute: Victor owns a dog and goes spelunking) *Investigate Glistening Crystals. (Clues: Faded Pages, Crystals) *Examine Faded Pages. (Result: Trap Scrapbook) *Analyze Trap Scrapbook. (08:00:00; Attribute: The killer has a goatee) *Examine Crystals. (Result: Bloody Crystal) *Analyze Bloody Crystal. (10:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears green) *Take care of the killer now! *Go to The Pawns on a Chessboard (2/5). (No stars) The Pawns on a Chessboard (2/5) *See what Noah needs to tell Matthew. (Reward: 20,000 Coins) *Investigate Crystal Clearing. (Clue: Pile of Crystals) *Examine Pile of Crystals. (Result: Broken Pieces) *Examine Broken Pieces. (Result: Quartz) *Ask Esmerelda to fashion the quartz into cufflinks. (New Quasi-Suspect: Matthew Moreau) *Gift the cufflinks to Matthew. (Reward: Burger) *See if Daphne's sleuthing group have heard of the syndicate. *Investigate Enigma Mobile. (Clue: Flower Bag) *Examine Flower Bag. (Result: Margot's Notes) *Analyze Margot's Notes. (07:00:00) *Thank Margot for her help. (Reward: Sleuthing Outfit) *Move onto a new crime! (1 star) Navigation Category:All Fanmade Cases Category:Cases in The Syndicate Category:Belrose Bay